The Christmas story reminds us that the coming of God to us in the person of Jesus Christ went almost unnoticed.
The cast of characters invited to be witnesses to his birth is small in number. As with his birth, so with his public ministry: Jesus went unrecognised and unreceived.
But there were, from the very beginning, those who recognised and received Christ – who put their faith in him. John tells us that, for these people, Christ’s birth leads to their rebirth- the astonishing possibility of recovering the key to our lost humanity, being children of God.
As we enter Advent this year, the need for our broken world and our broken lives to be made new by the power of God is more evident than ever. In ways that are so often unseen and unnoticed, God comes again through Christ this Christmas to bring new birth to his broken creation.
May we be awake to Christ’s presence – not missing the moment of his coming to us but recognising him and receiving him – that all the dead and broken places in our world and our lives might experience the new birth that can only come through Christ.
